Columbia Prep Feedback

to the editor: columbia grammar and preparatory school has in no way been cooperative with its neighbors ("glass 'donut' expansion," oct. 15). the one meeting school representatives had with concerned citizens-at the encouragement of community board 7-was a fiasco. despite repeated requests from attendees to discuss their concerns, they were stonewalled by the school's architect and headmaster. we who are directly opposite and in the sight line of the school's 94th street buildings will be assaulted with much more light throughout the day and night, and we will lose any privacy we had been afforded due to the overall design. the building is completely out of sync with surrounding backyards and buildings, blocks the view of neighborhood trees and is not environmentally friendly because the glass front creates the need for year-round air conditioning. virginia abrams upper west side

to the editor: the published rendering of the proposed "crystal palace" project of columbia grammar school takes many liberties. no one will ever experience the building from the perspective shown in the rendering. neighboring apartments will be almost on top of it. school administrators say that light and greenery are important to classrooms, but frittered glass and contrived plantings have questionable value. the charm of landmarked brownstones wears thin. with relatively narrow spaces and windows only in the front and rear, they do not provide good classrooms. instead, columbia grammar should invest in a new building where space is more plentiful, technology is state of the art, classes (especially art) have real light and there is natural greenery. elizabeth forel upper west side letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity